Process for forming protective film on coated surface of automobile

ABSTRACT

A strippable paint is poured down onto coated surfaces  1, 2  and  3  of an automobile V within regions to be protected, from a plurality of nozzles  10  disposed in parallel in a widthwise direction of the automobile V above the coated surfaces  1, 2  and  3  of the automobile V, while controlling the number of nozzles which are used to discharge the strippable paint, in accordance with the extent of the regions to be protected. Thereafter, the strippable paint is spread over an entirety of the coated surfaces  1, 2  and  3  in the regions to be protected. Thus, the region covered by each of the nozzles can be relatively reduced to efficiently carry out the pouring-down of the strippable paint and to prevent dusts of a coating material from being scattered to a wide range. In addition, the need for a masking step and/or an inspecting/correcting step can be eliminated to reduce the operating steps and further to alleviate the operational load.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a process for forming a protective filmof a strippable paint on a coated surface of an automobile in order totemporarily protect the coated surface, and particularly, to a processfor forming a protective film for temporarily protecting a coatedsurface of a completed automobile in the transportation of theautomobile.

BACKGROUND ART

To avoid that an outer surface of a completed automobile suffers acontamination due to soot, dusts, iron powder rust, acid rain and thelike, a corrosion due to excrement of birds and insects, or a damagesuch as a scratch during transportation or storage of the completedautomobile, it is conventionally carried out that the coated surf ace ofthe completed automobile is temporarily protected by a protective filmformed from the strippable paint. In a technique disclosed in JapanesePatent Application Laid-open No. 6-142604, for example, a strippablepaint is applied onto coated surfaces by a roller, a brush or the likealong an outer peripheral edge of a region to be protected, and after orbefore such application, the strippable paint is sprayed to a regionnarrower than the region to be protected, so that an overlapped-coatedzone is formed in the double-coated regions.

In the above conventional technique, however, dusts of a coatingmaterial may be spread to a wider range during spraying operation of thestrippable paint, whereby the dusts may be scattered beyond theoverlapped-coated zone to adhere to a portion out of the region to beprotected. Therefore, a masking step is required, and/or aninspecting/correcting step is required, resulting in an increase innumber of steps.

In applying the strippable paint by a roller, a brush or the like, anoperation of putting the strippable paint on the roller or the brushmust be repeated many times, which is troublesome. In this case, it isconsidered that a self-contained roller brush is used, but because acoating material supplying hose is connected to the self-containedroller brush, the direction of movement of the self-contained rollerbrush is limited; the weight is increased, and the operational load isincreased.

The present invention has been accomplished with such circumstances inview, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a processfor forming a protective film on coated surfaces of an automobile,wherein it is possible to prevent the strippable paint from beingadhered to the portion out of the region to be protected, therebysimplifying the operating steps and alleviating the operational load.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect and feature ofthe present invention, there is provided a process for forming aprotective film of a strippable paint onto a coated surface of anautomobile to temporarily protect the coated surface, comprising a firststep of pouring down the strippable paint onto the coated surface withina region to be protected, from a plurality of nozzles disposed above thecoated surface of the automobile in parallel to one another in awidthwise direction of the automobile, while controlling the number ofnozzles used to discharge the strippable paint, in accordance with anextent of the region to be protected; a second step of spreading thestrippable paint over an entirety of the coated surface in the region tobe protected; and a third step of drying the strippable paint on thecoated surface to form the protective film, wherein the first to thirdsteps are carried out in the mentioned order. According to a secondaspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided a processfor forming a protective film of a strippable paint onto a coatedsurface of an automobile to temporarily protect the coated surface,comprising a first step of pouring down the strippable paint onto thecoated surface within a region to be protected, from a plurality ofnozzles disposed above the coated surface of the automobile, whilecontrolling the amount of the strippable paint discharged from thenozzles in accordance with an extent of the region to be protected; asecond step of spreading the strippable paint over an entirety of thecoated surface in the region to be protected; and a third step of dryingthe strippable paint on the coated surface to form the protective film,wherein the first to third steps are carried out in the mentioned order.Further, according to a third aspect and feature of the presentinvention, there is provided a process for forming a protective film ofa strippable paint onto a coated surface of an automobile to temporarilyprotect the coated surface, comprising a first step of pouring down thestrippable paint onto the coated surface within a region to beprotected, from a plurality of nozzles disposed above the coated surfaceof the automobile, while controlling the number of nozzles used todischarge the strippable paint, and the amount of strippable paintdischarged from the used nozzles, in accordance with an extent of theregion to be protected; a second step of spreading the strippable paintover an entirety of the coated surface in the region to be protected;and a third step of drying the strippable paint on the coated surface toform the protective film, wherein the first to third steps are carriedout in the mentioned order.

With such first to third features, the region covered by each of thenozzles can be relatively reduced, whereby the pouring-down of thestrippable paint can be efficiently carried out, and it is possible toprevent dusts of the coating material from being scattered to a widerange, thereby eliminating the need for the masking step and/or theinspecting/correcting step and to reduce the operating steps, andfurther to alleviate the operational load.

According to a fourth aspect and feature of the present invention, atthe first step in the first, second or third feature, the strippablepaint is poured down onto the coated surface while being run in a zigzagmanner, whereby the pouring-down of the strippable paint in an amountappropriately corresponding to the extent of the coated surface of theautomobile can be efficiently carried out.

According to a fifth aspect and feature of the present invention, at thefirst step in the first, second or third feature, the strippable paintis poured down onto the coated surface within a predetermined areaestablished smaller than the region to be protected, whereby anappropriate amount of the strippable paint corresponding to the extentof the coated surface can be efficiently carried out, while reliablypreventing overflow and flowing-down out of the region to be protected.

According to a sixth aspect and feature of the present invention, at thesecond step in any of the first to fifth features, the strippable paintpoured down onto the coated surface is spread by a roller, whereby thethickness of the film on the completion of the spreading over can alwaysbe stabilized to contribute to an enhancement in quality of theprotective film and to facilitate the peeling-off operation.

According to a seventh aspect and feature of the present invention, atthe second step in any of the first to fifth features, the strippablepaint poured down onto the coated surface is spread by spraying of airfrom obliquely above the coated surface, whereby the contact ofequipment with the strippable paint can be avoided in spreading thestrippable paint, thereby facilitating maintenance of an air sprayingdevice, and preventing generation of unevenness in uniformity of thespreading attendant on the contact with the equipment and generation ofoverflow of the strippable paint from the equipment to further enhancethe quality. Further, the thickness of the film on the completion of thespreading can always be stabilized to facilitate the peeling-offoperation.

According to an eighth aspect and feature of the present invention, thesecond step in the fifth feature comprises a first spreading step ofspreading the strippable paint remaining in a poured-down state withinthe predetermined area on the coated surface over the predetermined areaby spraying of air from obliquely above the coated surface, and a secondspreading step of spreading the strippable paint from the predeterminedarea to a peripheral edge of the region to be protected after lapse of apredetermined time from completion of the first spreading step. Thisenables the spreading of the strippable paint onto the coated surfaceover the predetermined area to be carried out promptly. Thereafter, thestrippable paint having the fluidity reduced with lapse of time can bespread to the peripheral edge of the region to be protected of thecoated surface, thereby reliably preventing the overflow of thestrippable paint and forming the protective film in accuratecorrespondence to the region to be protected of the coated surface.

According to a ninth aspect and feature of the present invention, inaddition to the eighth feature, the strippable paint is spread by aroller in the second spreading step, whereby the spreading of thestrippable paint to the peripheral edge of the region to be protected ofthe coated surface can be reliably carried out.

According to a tenth aspect and feature of the present invention, at thefirst step in the first, second or third feature, the plurality ofnozzles disposed above the automobile in parallel in the widthwisedirection of the automobile are lifted or lowered correspondingly toupper and lower positions of the coated surface to be protected of theautomobile, and while the automobile and the nozzles are beingrelatively moved along a longitudinal direction of the automobile, thestrippable paint is poured down from the used nozzles which are selectedfrom the plurality of nozzles in accordance with the extent of thecoated surface. According to an eleventh aspect and feature of thepresent invention, at the first step in the fourth feature, theplurality of nozzles disposed above the automobile in parallel in thewidthwise direction of the automobile are lifted or lowered from aonce-stopped state thereof in a manner corresponding to upper and lowerpositions of the coated surface to be protected of the automobile, andare moved in longitudinal and widthwise directions of the automobile topour down the strippable paint in a zigzag manner onto the coatedsurface to be protected.

With such tenth and eleventh features, an appropriate amount of thestrippable paint can be efficiently poured down onto the coated surfaceof the automobile.

Further, according to a twelfth aspect and feature of the presentinvention, at the first step in the fourth feature, the plurality ofnozzles disposed above the automobile in parallel in a widthwisedirection of the automobile that is moved continuously are lifted orlowered correspondingly to the upper and lower positions of the coatedsurface to be protected of the automobile, and are moved in thewidthwise direction of the automobile to pour down the strippable paintin a zigzag manner onto the coated surface to be protected. Thus, thestrippable paint can be poured down in the zigzag manner onto the coatedsurface to be protected, by a further simple construction in which theplurality of nozzles are moved in the widthwise and vertical directionsof the automobile.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a portion of a protective film formingapparatus;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along a line 2—2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an illustration showing a locus of movement of a nozzlecorresponding to an automobile which is in its once-stopped state;

FIG. 4 is an illustration showing a circuit of supplying of a strippablepaint to nozzles;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an automobile after completion of thepouring-down of the strippable paint;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a portion of an air sprayingdevice;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a state of spreading by spraying ofair;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the automobile which is in a spreading course;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a state of spreading by a roller in asecond embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1, but according to a thirdembodiment; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing sequentially a course of forming aprotective film in a fourth embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 8. Referring first to FIG. 1, in forming aprotective film for temporarily protecting a coated surface of anautomobile V after completion of assembling, the automobile V istransported so as to pass sequentially through a coating materialpouring-down station S_(D), a spreading station S_(A) and a dryingstation (not shown).

The protective film is formed on a bonnet coated surface 1, a roofcoated surface 2 and a trunk lid coated surface 3 rather than on theentire surface of the automobile V. In the coating material pouring-downstation S_(D), a strippable paint is poured down from above onto thecoated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 of a bonnet, a roof and a trunk lid by acoating material pouring-down device 4.

Referring also to FIG. 2, the coating material pouring-down device 4includes a guide rail 5 which is fixedly disposed on a floor surfacesideways of the automobile V in the coating material pouring-downstation S_(D) and which extends in a longitudinal direction of theautomobile V, a carriage 6 movable along the guide rail 5, a liftingstand 8 carried for lifting movement on a support pole 7 standing on thecarriage 6, a support arm 9 extending in a widthwise direction of theautomobile V and carried on the lifting stand 8 for movement in alengthwise direction of the automobile V, and a plurality of nozzles 10,10 disposed with their discharge ports turned downwards at a pluralityof points spaced apart from one another in a lengthwise direction of thesupport arm 9.

A rack 11 is fixedly disposed on the floor surface outside the guiderail 5 to extend in parallel to the guide rail 5, and a pinion 12disposed on the carriage 6 is meshed with the rack 11. A drive source(not shown) such as a motor for rotating the pinion 12 is disposed onthe carriage 6, so that the carriage 6 is moved longitudinally of theautomobile V by the rotation of the pinion 12. A lifting drive source(not shown) such as a cylinder is provided between the lifting stand 8and the carriage 6, so that the lifting stand 8 can be lifted andlowered depending upon the level of a top surface of the automobile V.

A pair of upper and lower guide rails 13, 13 are fixed to the liftingstand 8 and extends in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the guiderail 5, and a base end of the support arm 9 is fixed to a moving plate14 movable along the guide rails 13, 13. An air motor 15 having an axisextending in a lengthwise direction of the guide rail 5 is fixedlydisposed on the lifting stand 8, and a crank arm 16 connected to anoutput shaft of the air motor 15 and the moving plate 14 are connectedto each other through a rod 17. Therefore, the support arm 9 and thusthe plurality of nozzles 10, 10 are operated in the widthwise directionof the automobile V in response to the rotation of the air motor 15.

With such coating material pouring-down device 4, the nozzles 10, 10 canbe moved as shown in FIG. 3 relative to the automobile V which is in aonce-stopped state in the coating material pouring-down station S_(D),whereby the strippable paint is poured down onto the coated surfaces 1,2 and 3 of the bonnet, the roof and the trunk lid. More specifically,the nozzles 10, 10 are moved relative to the automobile V which has beenmoved to a predetermined position in the coating material pouring-downstation S_(D) and once stopped therein, so that they pass sequentiallythrough a first point P₁ established at a front portion of the bonnetcoated surface 1 of the automobile V, a second point P₂ established at arear portion of the bonnet coated surface 1, a third point P₃established at a front portion of the roof 2, a fourth point P₄established at a rear portion of the roof 2, a fifth point P₅established at a front portion of the trunk lid 3, and a sixth point P₆established at a rear portion of the trunk lid 3. The points P₁ to P₆are established at locations which are higher than the coated surfaces1, 2 and 3 of the bonnet, the roof and the trunk lid by predeterminedvalues.

The strippable paint is supplied to the nozzles 10, 10, but thestrippable paint is not usually poured down from all of the nozzles 10,10, and the number of the nozzles used to pour down the strippable paintand the amount of strippable paint poured down from the nozzles, arecontrolled depending upon the extent of areas of the coated surfaces 1,2 and 3 to be protected.

Referring to FIG. 4, the nozzles 10 extending up and down are connectedat their upper ends to a plurality of discharge-amount control means 30,30 which are disposed at a plurality of points spaced apart at the samedistance from one another in the lengthwise direction of the support arm9.

Each of the discharge-amount control means 30 includes a cylindricalhousing 31 which is fixed to the support arm 9 and extends verticallywith its upper and lower ends closed. An upper first slide bore 32, anda second slide bore 33 are provided in the housing 31 to form an annularstep therebetween. The second slide bore 33 has a diameter smaller thanthat of the first slide bore 32, and is coaxially connected to a lowerend of the first slide bore 32.

A first piston 36 is slidably received in the first slide bore 32 todefine a spring chamber 35 between the piston 36 and an upper end of thehousing 31, and a second piston 37 is slidably received in the secondslide bore 33 to define an air pressure chamber 39 between the secondpiston 37 and the first piston 36. The pistons 36 and 37 are coaxiallyconnected to each other by a connecting shaft 38. The spring chamber 35opens to the outside, and a spring 41 is provided between the firstpiston 36 and the housing 31 and accommodated in the spring chamber 35.The housing 31 is also provided with an air pressure supply bore 42leading to the air pressure chamber 39, and with a paint supply bore 43which opens into an inner surface of a lower portion of the second slidebore 33 to supply the strippable paint. The nozzle 10 is connected tothe lower end of the housing 31 in such a manner that it is coaxiallyconnected to a lower end of the second slide bore 33.

With such discharge-amount control means 30, a force provided by an airpressure in the air pressure chamber 39 is applied to the first andsecond pistons 36 and 37 to move the pistons 36 and 37 upwards, whereasa spring force of the spring 41 is applied to the pistons 36 and 37 tomove the pistons 36 and 37 downwards. The upper and lower positions ofthe pistons 36 and 37 in the housing 31 are determined at points atwhich the force provided by the air pressure and the spring force of thespring 41 are balanced with each other. Therefore, when the air pressureapplied to the air pressure chamber 39 is smaller, the pistons 36 and 37are in the lower limit position. In this state, the paint supply bore 43is fully closed by a side of the second piston 37, whereby thecommunication between the paint supply bore 43 and the nozzle 10 are cutoff and hence, the strippable paint cannot be discharged from the nozzle10. When the air pressure applied to the air pressure chamber 39 isincreased, the pistons 36 and 37 are moved upwards from the lower limitpositions, thereby opening the paint supply bore 43. Moreover, theopening degree of the paint supply bore 43 is determined depending onthe upper and lower positions of the pistons 36 and 37, i.e., the airpressure applied to the air pressure chamber 39, and the amount ofstrippable paint discharged from the nozzle 10 is controlled by the airpressure applied to the air pressure chamber 39.

The strippable paint is stored in a tank 44. Examples of the strippablepaint which may be properly used, are materials which are excellent inshock and wear resistances after formation of a protective film and havewater and oil resistances, and which can easily be peeled off in theform of a single coating film, such as a vinyl chloride-based coating, avinyl emulsion coating, an aqueous emulsion coating, or a syntheticlatex.

A suction port of a pump 45 is connected to the tank 44, and a dischargeport of the pump 45 is connected to a paint supply line 47 through asolenoid on-off valve 46. The paint supply line 47 is common to all ofthe discharge-amount control means 30. The paint supply bores 43 of thedischarge-amount control means 30 are connected to the paint supply line47 through individual flow rate regulating valves 40. The flow rateregulating valves 40 act to regulate the supply amount to supply thestrippable paint to the paint supply bores 43 of the discharge-amountcontrol means 30 through the paint supply line 47.

The nozzles 10, 10 are disposed at an even number of points, e.g., sixpoints spaced apart at the same distance from one another in thelengthwise direction of the support arm 9, and the support arm 9 and thenozzles 10, 10 are operated in the widthwise direction of the automobileV. Therefore, for the number of those of the nozzles 10, 10 which pourdown the strippable paint and for the amount of strippable paint poureddown from the strippable paint pouring-down nozzles, the nozzles 10, 10lying at symmetrical positions with respect to a center position in adirection of arrangement of the nozzles may be commonly controlled.Therefore, a plurality of, e.g., three air pressure supply lines 48 aredisposed one for every pair of the discharge-amount control means 30, 30lying at the symmetrical position with respect to the center position inthe direction of arrangement of the nozzles 10, 10, and are connected tothe air pressure supply bores 42. The air pressure supply lines 48 arealso connected to a common line 51 leading to an air pressure source 49and including an on-off valve 50 through pressure control valves 52 andsolenoid on-off valves 53, respectively.

The operations of the solenoid on-off valve 46, the pressure controlvalves 52 and the solenoid on-off valves 53 are controlled by a controlunit 54. The control unit 54 has a program previously establishedtherein for controlling the operations of the pressure control valves 52in accordance with the type of the automobile V advancing into thecoating material pouring-down station S_(D).

With such coating material pouring-down device 4, zigzag lines ofstrippable paint 18 poured down are drawn on the coated surfaces 1, 2and 3 of the bonnet, the roof and the trunk lid of the automobile Vstopped in the coating material pouring-down station S_(D), as shown inFIG. 5. Moreover, the number of the zigzag lines is varied bycontrolling the number of the nozzles pouring down the strippable paint18 in accordance with the extents of the coated surfaces. For example,six zigzag lines are drawn on the bonnet coated surface 1, and fourzigzag lines are drawn on each of the roof coated surface 2 and thetrunk lid coated surface 3.

The areas of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 onto which the coatingmaterial is poured down in the coating material pouring-down stationS_(D), are defined as predetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃ smaller thanprofiles of those areas of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 which are tobe protected. The strippable paint 18 is poured down only within thepredetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃.

The automobile V after being subjected to the pouring-down of thecoating material in the coating material pouring-down station S_(D), istransported to the spreading station S_(A), where the strippable paint18 on the coated surfaces is spread to the entire areas to be protectedby an air spraying device 20 in the spreading station S_(A).

The air spraying device 20 includes a support arm 21 extending in thewidthwise direction of the automobile V, and the lifting and loweringmovements of the support arm 21, the movement of support arm 21 in adirection along the longitudinal direction of the automobile V, and themovement of the support arm 21 in a direction along the widthwisedirection of the automobile V, are made possible by a constructionsimilar to that of the above-described coating material pouring-downdevice 4.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a hollow box 22 is fixed to the support arm21 and extends long in the widthwise direction of the automobile V, andpressurized air is supplied from a pressurized air source (not shown)into the box 22. Moreover, a plurality of air ejection bores 23, 23 areprovided in a bottom of the box 22 at distances spaced apart from oneanother in the widthwise direction of the automobile V, and a guideplate 24 is secured to the bottom of the box 22 for guiding air ejectedfrom the air ejection bores 23, 23 to spray the air onto the automobileV from obliquely above the automobile.

With such air spraying device 20, the strippable paint 18 poured down asthe zigzag lines onto each of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3, as shownin FIG. 7, is spread sequentially over the entirety of theto-be-protected area of each of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3, as shownin FIG. 8, by spraying of air from obliquely above the coated surface.

During this time, the air spraying device 20 spreads the strippablepaint from the front site toward the rear site of the automobile V, asshown by an arrow 26 in FIG. 5. In pouring down the coating material inthe coating material pouring-down station S_(D), the operation of thesupport arm 9 in the coating material pouring-down device. 4 in thecoating material pouring-down station S_(D) is controlled, so that thereversed positions of the adjacent zigzag lines drawn by the strippablepaint 18 are substantially aligned with each other in a spreadingdirection shown by the arrow 26. This achieves the equalization of thethickness of a film produced by the spreading provided by the airspraying device 20.

The automobile V after completion of the spreading in the spreadingstation S_(A) is transported to the drying station (not shown), wherethe strippable paint 18 spread on the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 isdried by a drying treatment in the drying station to form a protectivefilm.

The operation of the first embodiment will be described below. To formthe protective film on each of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 of thecompleted automobile V, the automobile V is subjected sequentially tothe following steps: a first step of pouring down the strippable paint18 onto the predetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃ smaller than theto-be-protected areas in the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3; a second stepof spreading the strippable paint 18 over the entirety of the coatedsurfaces 1, 2 and 3 in the to-be-protected areas; and a third step ofdrying the strippable paint 18 on the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 to formthe protective film. Therefore, dusts of the coating material cannot bescattered to a wide region and hence, a masking step and aninspecting/correcting step are not required. As a result, the operatingprocess is reduced, and the operational load is remarkably alleviated,as compared with the prior art using a self-contained roller brush.

At the first step, the strippable paint 18 is poured down in a zigzagmanner, from the plurality of nozzles 10, 10 disposed above the coatedsurfaces 1, 2 and 3, while controlling the number of the nozzles used todischarge the strippable paint and the amount of strippable paint 18discharged from the used nozzles. Therefore, the area covered by each ofthe nozzles is reduced to the utmost to enhance the operating efficiencyand moreover, the pouring-down of an appropriate amount of thestrippable paint 18 is carried out efficiently. Additionally, thestrippable paint 18 is poured down in accordance with the predeterminedareas A₁, A₂ and A₃ smaller than the areas to be protected andtherefore, an amount of the strippable paint 18 depending on the extentof each of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 can be poured down with a goodefficiency.

Further, the strippable paint 18 poured down depending on the extents ofthe predetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃ is spread by spraying of air.Therefore, the thickness of the film at the completion of the spreadingcan be always stabilized, which can contribute to an enhancement inquality of the formed protective film, and in carrying out theprotective film peeling-off operation, the protective film can be peeledoff uniformly and easily.

Moreover, by use of the spraying of air for spreading the strippablepaint 18, the contact of the equipment with the strippable paint 18 canbe avoided, and maintenance of the air spraying device 20 isfacilitated. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent generation ofunevenness of the spreading attendant on the contact of the equipment,and generation of overflow of the strippable paint 18 from the equipmentto further contribute to an enhancement in quality.

FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. At a secondstep after completion of a first step of pouring down the strippablepaint 18 onto the predetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃ of the coatedsurfaces 1, 2 and 3, the strippable paint 18 may be spread using aroller 25 over the entirety of each of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 inthe region to be protected.

In this case, the roller 25 is used, but the direction of the movementof the roller 25 cannot be limited, as compared with the case where theself-contained roller brush is used. In addition, the roller 25 itselfis light in weight and hence, there is not a possibility that theoperational load may be increased due to the weight. Moreover, as in thefirst embodiment, the thickness of the film on the completion of thespreading can always be stabilized to contribute to an enhancement inquality of the protective film and to facilitate the peeling-offoperation.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. An automobileV is transported by a transporting means 56 comprising a plurality ofcarriages 55, 55 connected to one another to pass sequentially throughthe coating material pouring-down station S_(D), the spreading stationS_(A) and the drying station (not shown).

More specifically, each of the automobiles V is placed onto the carriage55, and a coating material pouring-down device 4′ whose nozzles 10, 10can be moved in the widthwise and upward and downward directions of theautomobile V, is disposed at a fixed position in the coating materialpouring-down station S_(D), and an air spraying device 20′ whose box 22can be moved up and down is disposed at a fixed position in thespreading station S_(A).

Even with the third embodiment, an effect similar to that in each of theabove-described embodiments can be provided by the relative movement ofthe automobile V and the coating material pouring-down device 4′ as wellas the air spraying device 20′. Moreover, the coating materialpouring-down device 4′ may be constructed so that the nozzles 10, 10 aremoved in the widthwise and vertical directions of the automobile V andhence, the construction of the coating material pouring-down device 4′becomes more simple. The air spraying device 20′ may be also constructedso that the box 22 is moved up and down and hence, the construction ofthe air spraying device 20′ is simplified.

FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. To form aprotective film for temporarily protecting coated surfaces of theautomobile V after completion of assembling thereof, the automobile V istransported to pass sequentially through the following stations: acoating material pouring down station S_(D) in which a first step ofpouring down the strippable paint 18 in predetermined areas A₁, A₂ andA₃ established on the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 is carried out, aspreading station S_(A)′ in which a second step of spreading thestrippable paint 18 over the entirety of the to-be-protected regions inthe coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 is carried out, and a drying station (notshown). The spreading station S_(A)′ includes a first station sectionS_(A1) for carrying out a first spreading step of spreading thestrippable paint 18 in a state poured down onto the coated surfaces 1, 2and 3 in the predetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃, and a second stationsection S_(A2) for carrying out a second spreading step of spreading thestrippable paint 18 until it reaches peripheral edges of theto-be-protected regions from the predetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃,after lapse of a predetermined time from the completion of the firstspreading step portion.

In the first station section S_(A1) in the spreading station S_(A)′, thestrippable paint 18 is spread within the predetermined areas A₁, A₂ andA₃ by spraying air from obliquely above onto the coated surfaces 1, 2and 3. In the second station section S_(A2), the strippable paint 18 isspread by the roller 25 shown in FIG. 9.

With the fourth embodiment, by carrying out, in the spreading stationS_(A)′, the first spreading step portion of spreading the strippablepaint 18 in the predetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃, and the secondspreading step portion of spreading the strippable paint 18 until itreaches the peripheral edges of the to-be-protected regions from thepredetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃ after the lapse of the predeterminedtime from the completion of the first spreading step portion, it ispossible to form the protective film in accurate correspondence to theto-be-protected regions in the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 in such amanner that the overflow and flowing-down of the strippable paint 18from the to-be-protected regions in the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 canbe reliably prevented, and the strippable paint 18 having a fluidityreduced due to the lapse of time is spread to the peripheral edges ofthe to-be-protected regions in the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3.

Moreover, the spreading of the strippable paint 18 within thepredetermined areas A₁, A₂ and A₃ can be carried out promptly bycarrying out the first spreading step portion by the spraying of airfrom obliquely above the areas. In addition, the spreading of thestrippable paint 18 to the peripheral edges of the to-be-protectedregions of the coated surfaces 1, 2 and 3 can be carried out reliably bycarrying out the second spreading step portion using the roller 25.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described indetail, it will be understood that the present invention is not limitedto the above-described embodiments, and various modifications in designmay be made within the spirit and scope of the present invention definedin claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for forming a protective film of astrippable paint onto a coated surface of an automobile to temporarilyprotect the coated surface, comprising a first step of pouring down saidstrippable paint onto said coated surface within a region to beprotected, from a plurality of nozzles disposed above said coatedsurface of the automobile in parallel to one another in a widthwisedirection of the automobile, while controlling the number of nozzlesused to discharge the strippable paint, in accordance with an extent ofthe region to be protected; a second step of spreading said strippablepaint over an entirety of said coated surface in the region to beprotected; and a third step of drying said strippable paint on thecoated surface to form the protective film, wherein said first to thirdsteps are carried out in the mentioned order.
 2. A process for forming aprotective film on a coated surface of an automobile according to claim1, wherein at said first step, said strippable paint is poured down ontosaid coated surface while being run in a zigzag manner.
 3. A process forforming a protective film on a coated surface of an automobile accordingto clam 1, wherein at said first step, said strippable paint is poureddown onto said coated surface within a predetermined area establishedsmaller than the region to be protected.
 4. A process for forming aprotective film on a coated surface of an automobile according to claim1, wherein at said second step, said strippable paint poured down ontosaid coated surface is spread by a roller.
 5. A process for forming aprotective film on a coated surface of an automobile according to claim1, wherein at said second step said strippable paint poured down ontosaid coated surface is spread by spraying of air from obliquely abovesaid coated surface.
 6. A process for forming a protective film on acoated surface of an automobile according to claim 3, wherein saidsecond step comprises a first spreading step of spreading saidstrippable paint remaining in a poured-down state within saidpredetermined area on the coated surface over the predetermined area byspraying of air from obliquely above said coated surface, and a secondspreading step of spreading said strippable paint from saidpredetermined area to a peripheral edge of the region to be protectedafter lapse of a predetermined time from completion of said firstspreading step.
 7. A process for forming a protective film on a coatedsurface of an automobile according to claim 6, wherein at said secondspreading step, said strippable paint is spread by a roller.
 8. Aprocess for forming a protective film on a coated surface of anautomobile according to claim 1, wherein at said first step, theplurality of nozzles are disposed above the automobile and in parallelin the widthwise direction of the automobile are lifted or loweredcorrespondingly to upper and lower positions of the coated surface to beprotected of the automobile, and while the automobile and the nozzlesare being relatively moved along a longitudinal direction of theautomobile, the strippable paint is poured down from the used nozzleswhich are selected from the plurality of nozzles in accordance with theextent of said coated surface.
 9. A process for forming a protectivefilm on a coated surface of an automobile according to claim 2, whereinat said first step, the plurality of nozzles disposed above theautomobile in parallel in the widthwise direction of the automobile arelifted or lowered from a once-stopped state thereof in a mannercorresponding to upper and lower positions of the coated surface to beprotected of the automobile, and are moved in longitudinal and widthwisedirections of the automobile to pour down said strippable paint in azigzag manner onto said coated surface to be protected.
 10. A processfor forming a protective film on a coated surface of an automobileaccording to claim 2, wherein at said first step, the plurality ofnozzles disposed above the automobile in parallel in a widthwisedirection of the automobile that is moved continuously are lifted orlowered correspondingly to upper and lower positions of the coatedsurface to be protected of the automobile, and are moved in thewidthwise direction of the automobile to pour down the strippable paintin a zigzag manner onto the coated surface to be protected.
 11. Aprocess for forming a protective film on a coated surface of anautomobile according to claim 1, wherein said process is performed by apouring-down device for pouring down the strippable paint, saidpouring-down device having a support arm which extends above and in awidthwise direction of the automobile, said support arm beingreciprocally movable in said widthwise direction and said plurality ofnozzles being fixed on said support arm at distances therebetween in thewidthwise direction, and wherein said pouring down of said strippablepaint onto said coated surface in said first step is conducted by movingsaid support arm reciprocally in the widthwise direction of theautomobile to pour down said strippable paint onto said coated surfacein a zigzag manner.
 12. A process for forming a protective film of astrippable paint onto a coated surface of an automobile to temporarilyprotect the coated surface, comprising a first step of pouring down saidstrippable paint onto said coated surface within a region to beprotected, from a plurality of nozzles disposed above the coated surfaceof the automobile, while controlling the amount of said strippable paintdischarged from said nozzles in accordance with an extent of the regionto be protected; a second step of spreading said strippable paint overan entirety of said coated surface in the region to be protected; and athird step of drying the strippable paint on the coated surface to formthe protective film, wherein said first to third steps are carried outin the mentioned order.
 13. A process for forming a protective film on acoated surface of an automobile according to claim 12, wherein saidprocess is performed by a pouring-down device for pouring down thestrippable paint, said pouring-down device having a support arm whichextends above and in a widthwise direction of the automobile, saidsupport arm being reciprocally movable in said widthwise direction andsaid plurality of nozzles being fixed on said support arm at distancestherebetween in the widthwise direction, and wherein said pouring downof said strippable paint onto said coated surface in said first step isconducted by moving said support arm reciprocally in the widthwisedirection of the automobile to pour down said strippable paint onto saidcoated surface in a zigzag manner.
 14. A process for forming aprotective film of a strippable paint onto a coated surface of anautomobile to temporarily protect the coated surface, comprising a firststep of pouring down said strippable paint onto said coated surfacewithin a region to be protected, from a plurality of nozzles disposedabove the coated surfaces of the automobile, while controlling thenumber of nozzles used to discharge said strippable paint, and theamount of strippable paint discharged from said used nozzles, inaccordance with an extent of the region to be protected; a second stepof spreading said strippable paint over an entirety of said coatedsurface in the region to be protected; and a third step of drying saidstrippable paint on said coated surface to form the protective film,wherein said first to third steps are carried out in the mentionedorder.
 15. A process for forming a protective film on a coated surfaceof an automobile according to claim 14, wherein said process isperformed by a pouring-down device for pouring down the strippablepaint, said pouring-down device having a support arm which extends aboveand in a widthwise direction of the automobile, said support arm beingreciprocally movable in said widthwise direction and said plurality ofnozzles being fixed on said support arm at distances therebetween in thewidthwise direction, and wherein said pouring down of said strippablepaint onto said coated surface in said first step is conducted by movingsaid support arm reciprocally in the widthwise direction of theautomobile to pour down said strippable paint onto said coated surfacein a zigzag manner.